What Was Lost
by Shezzi
Summary: Post Journey's End, the Doctor is alone once more, but the TARDIS decides to take matters into her own hands, and brings him to someone he thought was lost forever. It's post JE, people, there will be spoilers. You have been warned.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Further proof that I should not be allowed anywhere near youtube...it does bad things to my brain! And sics plot bunnies on me! Oh well. I don't own Doctor Who (pity). Hope you enjoy my insane ramblings! Drop a line on the way out if you like, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! Love xx Shezzi

The Doctor stood at the center console, his hearts heavy in his chest. They were all gone; back to their lives, or on to new ones. He saw, in his minds eye, Donna's face as she begged him not to take her memories, to not send her back to what she was. His eyes watered, and he wiped at them furiously. He had done the right thing, the only thing.

The TARDIS lurched suddenly, half a dozen alarms going off simultaneously. He ran around the console, trying to figure out what was going on, even as the TARDIS lurched and shook. It stopped with a bang, throwing him to the floor with the force of the impact.

"Hey, what was that all about?" he asked gently, stroking the console. She sent a pulse of urgency to him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Something important happening, eh? Well, let's have a look-see," he ran over to the door, opening it to survey the scenery. He was in the middle of a grassy plain, nothing particularly remarkable.

Then he smelt it. Rocket fuel, leaking into the air. He whirled, eyes searching the sky, and saw it. A rocket, limping through the sky, clearly trying to vent the fuel before crashing. Unable to do anything, he watched as it plowed into the ground, the sound of metal tearing renting the air.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was running, sure that whatever the TARDIS had brought him here for was in that ship. Wrapping his hands in his jacket, he forced the airlock open and ran in, coughing at the smoke that filled the tiny cabin. He cast around, searching for he knew not what.

He heard a faint groan, barely audible, from the other side of the room, and clambered over the broken wreckage, searching for the source. He caught a flash of blonde hair, and carefully shifted the torn metal to see what it was attached to.

His hearts stopped. "Jenny?" the name passed his lips as no more than a whisper.

The girl stirred, eyes opening a crack, then wider. "'Ello, Dad," she said, trying to smirk but breaking out in a fit of coughing instead. There was a large gash on the side of her head, bleeding sluggishly, and bruises were already causing her face to swell up.

"You…how…what…" forcing himself to put aside the questions, the Doctor concentrated on the here and now. "Hold on, I'm gonna get you out of here," he told her, brushing his hand gently against her cheek. "Just hold on!"

"I found you," she whispered, a smile drifting over her face.

"Yes, you did, and now I've got you, and I'm never letting you go again." The Doctor took a great, gasping breath. "I lost you once, I'm not losing you again!" He dug through the wreckage like a mad thing, carefully releasing her from her bindings. When she was free, he lifted her carefully in his arms, head curled against his chest, and ran towards the TARDIS. "Just hold on, all right? I'm taking you home."

"Home," she whispered, voice muffled against his coat.

"Jenny, stay with me! Don't go to sleep, Jenny," he told her urgently, running over the grassy hills, the distance to the TARDIS seeming so much further than it had ten minutes ago.

Rather than fumble for a key, he clicked his fingers, and the door swung open. He ran through the control room and into the infirmary, laying her carefully on the couch.

He stepped up beside her head, running careful fingers over her skull. He could find no damage beyond the gash and underlying lump, he turned his attention to the rest of her body. He ran gently probing hands down her neck, then over her arms. He felt her chest, sighing with relief to find all her ribs intact and resting both hands briefly to feel the double heartbeat. He pushed up the tank top she was wearing and ran careful hands over her abdomen, palpating gently.

He didn't find anything until he got to her right leg. When he ran his hands down her thigh she gasped, eyes opening wide in shock. She tried to sit, to get away from his hands.

"Hold still, hold still," he told her, pressing her gently back against the pillows. "You've had a nasty knock to the head and a broken leg. Doesn't look like anything else except bruises, so let's take care of that cut first, then the leg, yeah?"

"Okay," she replied, smiling slightly at him, still staring in the same way he knew he was; disbelief, joy and love all mixed up together.

Grabbing the dermal regenerator, he held it carefully above the gash, nodding slightly as the skin knitted together.

"So," he said slowly, as the bleeding stopped. "How are you alive exactly?"

"Dunno. Woke up, and I was fine. Well, except for breathing gold light every so often for a couple of hours." Jenny shrugged, uncertain.

"Oh, I'm an idiot! Just like me, just like I said! Perfectly, perfectly like me!" He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then grinned hugely at her. She looked just like he remembered, and his thoughts went briefly back to that moment, when she lay in his arms. "Now, let's take care of that leg!" he said, bouncing away and grabbing another instrument. He scanned the bone quickly to determine the type of fracture, then bit his lip.

"What?" asked Jenny, craning her head around to see his face.

"It needs to be set before I can mend it. I can give you some medicine, but by the time it kicks in, I could have already healed the bone. Also, we don't know what kind of allergies you might have. I mean, I know you'll be allergic to some things, but there are some medicines that may or may not have an adverse reaction…" he trailed off, realizing he was babbling.

"So, it's going to hurt," Jenny stated flatly. "Don't worry about it, Dad. Just do it, please?"

The Doctor cupped her cheek in his hand briefly, smiling tightly down at her, then moved down to stand beside her leg. He placed one hand on her pelvis, holding her down on the bed, and carefully slid the other under her knee. "On the count of three," he told her, meeting her eyes. "One, two…" he snapped the bone back into place, startling a stifled scream out of her, "Three."

"You're supposed to wait," she moaned, even as he grabbed the fracture repair device and held it over the injury, watching on the scanner as the bones knitted back together.

"You would have tensed up. It's easier like this," he told her, smiling sadly. "There we go, all better," he added a moment later. "Now, let's have a listen to those lungs," he said, pulling out his stethoscope.

Jenny, sitting up with his help, reached out and touched the familiar instrument. Suddenly she realized something was missing. "Where's Donna?" she asked lightly, glancing around as though expecting the redhead to waltz through the door at any moment and start picking on her dad.

"Donna…Donna had to go home," the Doctor told her softly, before settling the stethoscope on her chest. "Breathe in…deeper…breathe out. Again," he moved the stethoscope over her chest, nodding. "Little bit of smoke inhalation, nothing to worry about," he declared, smiling at her. "Now, just let me get you something for those bruises," he told her, then noticed something. Around her eye was bruised, but rather than the fresh blue and purple of the other bruises it was faded green and yellow.

"What's that?" he asked calmly, indicating it.

"Oh, nothing," she told him quickly, dropping her head slightly to try and hide it.

"Jenny," he said firmly, one hand taking her chin while the other reached into a nearby cupboard and withdrew a regenerative balm.

"It's nothing. I was working a job, they cottoned on to me, things got a bit rough before I was able to get out," she shrugged it off.

"A job? What sort of job?" asked the Doctor, now really worried.

"Well, not really a job at all, that would imply being paid. I stumbled onto a slave trading ring, and decided to do my civic duty," she told him, as he cool fingers smoothed the cream over her damaged skin.

"Slavers?" demanded the Doctor, horrified.

"Relax, Dad, it was perfectly safe," she told him, her tone casual.

"Clearly it wasn't. What if they decided that you were good slave material?"

"I wasn't exactly within their market. They liked to specialize – children from the ages of two to ten, no older, to be sold for pleasure." Her face was disgusted. "They hired me as a transporter…my first stop was the closest planet with a decent legal system and laws that would actually protect the kids. Thought that would be the end of it, that they could use the information I gave them to clean up the rest, but they said they needed more on the bosses, so they sent me back in; gave me money to maintain my cover as having sold the kids. But…I got sprung, somehow. That's how I ended up here; they damaged my engines as I was trying to escape." She shrugged her shoulder lightly.

"How long has it been for you?" asked the Doctor, curious.

"Only about eight months. You?"

"About the same," the Doctor said as he finished spreading the gel on her skin. "All done."

Jenny hopped down off the couch, stretching her leg out slightly, then the Doctor grabbed her in an enormous hug. "Rasillon, I thought I lost you! I thought you were dead!" he swung her around, laughing like a maniac. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he dropped some of his rigorous mental shielding, which was kept up in a constant, semi-conscious effort to fool himself that there were other Time Lord minds out there that he would feel if he just stopped blocking them. He dropped the shields, and found her there, waiting for him. She rushed in and filled a hole he was constantly conscious of and always trying to ignore.

"Dad?" asked Jenny, a look of wonder on her face. "Is that you?"

The Doctor nodded, tears in his eyes.

"I've had this really weird feeling, for the longest time, that there was something missing…and now there isn't," whispered Jenny, her own eyes growing slightly cloudy.

The Doctor smiled, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Hungry?" he asked, and she nodded quickly.

"So, can we go and visit Donna?" asked Jenny hopefully.

"No," said the Doctor, shaking his head. "It's...complicated," he said slowly, as Jenny stared at him.

"What's complicated about it? You land the TARDIS, go knock on the door, say hello. Seems pretty simple...oh," she said, as she felt her father's pain through their connection. "What happened?"

The Doctor led the way to the kitchen without speaking, and Jenny waited for him to collect his thoughts. He pushed her into a seat at the kitchen table and started putting together tea and sandwiches, before sitting down opposite. He started to speak, and Jenny listened with rapt attention to his explanation of the events leading up to him being forced to wipe Donna's memories and leave her with her family. By the end of it, she had abandoned her seat on the other side of the table and was sitting next to him, chairs as close together as possible as she leant on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she whispered.

"Yeah, well, never mind. We can go and see Martha if you want," he told her. "I'll show you Earth. Best planet in the universe, in my humble opinion...all right, my very pompous, but highly well informed opinion."

Jenny laughed at him and pulled him to his feet. "All right then, you! Let's go see Martha."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Second chapter! Hope you enjoy! Love xx Shezzi

The Doctor and Jenny clung to the console as the TARDIS lurched through the Vortex towards Earth

The Doctor and Jenny clung to the console as the TARDIS lurched through the Vortex towards Earth. It settled with a thud, throwing Jenny to floor, where she lay giggling, staring up at her father.

The Doctor grinned and stuck out a hand, pulling her up off the floor and dragging her towards the door. He stopped suddenly and glanced down at what she was wearing. "Umm…yes…you might want to get changed before we go anywhere," he told her gently.

She looked down at her clothes and snorted. They were barely more than rags at this point, smoke stained, bloody, torn rags. "Ya think?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, the expression so much like the Doctor's own that he just stared at her for a moment before gathering himself and continuing.

"Wardrobe's this way," he led her back into the depths of the TARDIS, through the circuitous route he had described to so many different companions.

Jenny stared around the enormous room, with its massive spiral staircase, eyes wide. She reached out with gentle fingers and brushed the skirt of an 18th century ball gown, then pulled back. "Definitely not me, ever," she said, although her expression was slightly wistful.

"We'll see. Maybe one day," the Doctor replied, and she shot him a look. "If you want to travel in time, sometimes you have to look the part," he told her firmly. She nodded slowly, then started to walk along the row.

She gasped suddenly, her hand reaching out, and she pulled out a pair of leather pants that looked the right size to fit her long legs and slim waist, and a baby tee in deep red. She nodded, satisfied, and started to turn away when something else caught her eye. She pulled it out, eyes widening in wonder, and she glanced at the Doctor, who just grinned.

"I'll leave you to get changed. There are underthings in the drawers just there," he pointed, then turned and left the wardrobe quickly. He leant against the wall outside the door, breathing hard. Why would she choose that? Out of everything in the wardrobe, why THAT jacket? Not that there was anything wrong with it, but…he hadn't even realized that Rose left it on the TARDIS, didn't know how it had ended up in the…wait a minute.

'You,' he said the TARDIS, who seemed almost to laugh at him. 'Rose didn't leave it, you just liked it, so you made one! You…'

'Dad? Who are you talking to?' asked Jenny, and the Doctor quickly shut up.

"Just the TARDIS," he called in to her, and could feel her confusion. "She's alive, and she's telepathic too. You'll recognize what's her and what's me as time goes on, at first it's a bit confusing, particularly if you haven't felt anything like it before."

"Okay," replied Jenny, opening the wardrobe door. She stood, grinning cheekily at him, the short black jacket over her shoulder, the tee and pants clinging tightly to her frame.

The Doctor opened his mouth to object, then thought better of it.

"Something wrong, Dad?" asked Jenny, teasingly. The Doctor shot her a look, and led her back to the control room.

"Here we are…Cardiff?" he opened the door and stared around in surprise, unsure what was going on. "Thought I told you to take us to Martha," he told the TARDIS, who sent him the mental equivalent of a shrug. He stepped out, one arm around Jenny's shoulders, and started walking. They were in a small side street, not far from Roald Dahl Plas, and he led the way over.

"As long as we're here, we might as well stop in and meet Jack. You'll like Jack, Jenny, he traveled with me, before Donna or Martha, back when…back when Rose was on board." He forced himself to complete the sentence and to keep smiling. He had left her to have a better life, he knew it, Rose knew it and had accepted it, but it didn't make his hearts hurt any less.

"Just down here," the Doctor led Jenny down a small side street to a dingy door with 'Tourist Information' written on it in rough lettering. He opened the door and ushered her inside, following on her heels.

"Good afternoon, may I help…oh, sir!" the young man behind the desk was on his feet, saluting crisply.

"Don't do that, Ianto, isn't it?" the Doctor said with a pained expression.

"Sorry, sir," replied Ianto, dropping his hand back to his side. "And yes, that's me. Here to see Jack and Dr Jones?" he asked, even as he opened the hidden door in the wall.

"Martha is here, then?" he asked, grinning in relief. He hadn't thought the TARDIS had made a mistake this time, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Just this way," replied Ianto, leading them down the corridor. "And who is your delightful companion?" he asked, curiously.

"This is my daughter, Jenny," the Doctor explained, as the security door rolled aside and the metal gates opened, revealing the interior of the Hub, a sight that, up to this point, he had only seen a very limited amount of on the TARDIS viewing screen.

"Nice to meet you, Jenny," Ianto said, smiling politely at her. "They're up in the briefing room," he told them, pointing to the stairs. "I need to get back upstairs, we're expecting a delivery." He disappeared back around the door, then stuck his head back into the room. "By the by, do you like pepperoni?"

"What's that?" asked Jenny, curious.

"I do, and I'm sure Jenny will as well," the Doctor said quickly to forestall the confusion. "Come on, Jenny, let's go catch up with Martha," he took his daughter's hand and led her across the hub towards the stairs Ianto had indicated.

They approached the conference room, where they could see the entire team staring hard at a projected image on the wall opposite the door. The Doctor opened the door, and they stepped through quietly, waiting for the reactions of the group.

"Oh, Ianto, is the pizza here? Great, the movie's just about to start," Martha said as she and Jack turned towards the door. They both froze, Martha's mouth dropping open in shock.

"Doc!" cried Jack, happily, jumping to his feet to greet his friend. "And who is this?" he asked with the characteristic, patent pending, Jack Harkness smirk.

"Jenny?" whispered Martha, who had finally managed to close her mouth and gather her wits about her. "But…you were dead!"

The Doctor chuckled at Martha's flummoxed expression. "I grew a new hand, she just restarted her hearts, what's so difficult about that?" he asked, grinning.

"What?" asked Martha, confused.

"First fifteen hours of her regeneration cycle, so to speak. Extra energy that allowed her body to repair the damage and restart her hearts!" The Doctor was grinning like a maniac by this point, and Jenny laughed at him.

Martha was on her feet and standing in front of the two of them before she was even conscious of moving. She reached out and touched Jenny gently, then grabbed her in a hug. A moment later, she released her and backed off slightly. "Sorry, I know we didn't really spend much time together, I'm just so happy for the two of you!" She moved to give the Doctor a hug, but Jack got in the way.

"Someone care to explain for those of us who don't know what the hell's going on?" he asked, slightly frustrated at having his repeated queries ignored.

"Jack, this is my daughter, Jenny," the Doctor told him, grinning at the flabbergasted look that came over the Captain's face before he staggered backwards to sit back down.

"Who…what…how…when?" he stammered, trying to get his head around the idea.

"It was just after the Sontaran invasion," Martha explained. "The TARDIS took off with me, Donna and the Doctor inside, no one driving, and crashed on this planet with a civil war going on. Anyway, they were creating soldiers using this machine that took DNA from the donor and created a fully grown person. They grabbed the Doctor, stuffed his hand in and, there you go, instant daughter!"

She grinned, looking so much like the Doctor at that moment that Jack, Jenny and the man in question all cracked up laughing at her. "But she was shot, we left her for them to bury, they thought it would be a good starting point for cultural integration," Martha continued, glaring slightly at the three who were still laughing their heads off.

"Oi, where's Rose?" came a gruff voice from down the table.

"Mickety-mick-mick!" cried the Doctor happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Work here, don' I?" he replied, scowling slightly. "You didn't answer my question, where's Rose?"

"Back in the parallel world," the Doctor replied, all animation gone from his tone. "With my human double. He needed her more than I did, and he could give her the one thing I couldn't, a human life and a human life span." Mickey thought about that for a moment, and nodded his approval.

"Are we gonna watch this movie?" asked Gwen, who, while enjoying the scene playing out before them, had been looking forward to this all day. Just then, Ianto appeared at the top of the stairs, almost invisible behind the stack of pizza boxes he was balancing in his arms.

"Think we're good," replied Jack, gesturing for the others to take seats around the table as he stood and opened the door for his boyfriend.

Pizza was passed and the movie started to roll. The Doctor grinned around the table, so much of his family back together, and took a large bite of pizza. Life was good. And he would go on from here to have many incredible adventures with his daughter, who was currently discovering the joys of thin bread covered in tomato paste, various meats and vegetables, and cheese.

THE END (To be continued in the next of the series when I get attacked by another rabid plot bunny!)


End file.
